This time, bounces don't favor Cowboys

Published 11:32 pm, Sunday, December 23, 2012

ARLINGTON — After scoring 14 unanswered points in the final 3:35 of regulation to force overtime, the Dallas Cowboys believed their run of heart-stopping, improbable wins was destined to continue.

“I don't know how many of you did, but I thought 'here we go' when we won that toss and got that ball,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said.

But a little more than four minutes into the extra session, that vibe of destiny turned into a sense of impending doom after New Orleans wide receiver Marques Colston fumbled the ball forward nearly 25 yards, and tight end Jimmy Graham outfought Cowboys safety Eric Frampton to recover it at the Dallas 2.

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One play later, Garrett Hartley kicked a 20-yard field goal to hand the Saints a 34-31 win Sunday that snapped the Cowboys' three-game winning streak and ensured they will travel to Landover, Md., next week for a playoffs-or-bust showdown with the Washington Redskins without momentum.

The loss knocked the Cowboys (8-7) out of a first-place tie with the Redskins (9-6) in the NFC East and eliminated them from wild-card contention. But thanks to the New York Giants' 33-14 loss to Baltimore, it had no effect on their hopes of reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2009 as division champs.

Dallas' better record against common opponents gives it the tiebreaker against Washington.

But in addition to having their confidence shaken by the loss to the Saints (7-8), the Cowboys face the daunting task of trying to stop Redskins rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III with an injury-decimated defense. The Baylor-ex passed for 304 yards and four touchdowns in a 38-31 win over Dallas on Thanksgiving in Arlington.

“You just got to put this one behind us,” Dallas coach Jason Garrett said. “You got to wipe the slate clean, and you've got to come back here on Wednesday morning and get your eyes focused on the task at hand, and that will be the Redskins.”

Said cornerback Brandon Carr: “It's a what-have-you-done-for-me lately, last-statement type of game. We got to give it our all.”

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But first the Cowboys must forget the painful sequence that resulted in a spirit-deflating loss.

After forcing the Cowboys to punt, the Saints needed just five plays on their first possession in OT to move from their own 26 to Dallas' 33. There they faced second-and-9 when Drew Brees hit Colston over the middle for a 9-yard gain.

But after taking what appeared to be at least two steps, Colston fumbled after Cowboys corner Morris Claiborne made contact. The ball bounced toward the end zone with Graham and Frampton in pursuit.

“He didn't have it at first,” Frampton said of Graham. “It was actually right underneath his leg. I went to go get it, and he made a great heads-up play by reaching around his leg and grabbing it.”

Said Colston: “It was a great hustle play by Jimmy. He saved my butt.”

The officials ruled the play a fumble and a recovery by Graham, and it was upheld on review. Garrett argued it should have been a drop by Colston, but Jones said in the locker room he had “no gripe” with the call.

The Cowboys wasted great efforts from quarterback Tony Romo, who was 26 of 43 for 416 yards and four TDs without a turnover, and Dez Bryant, who caught nine passes for a career-high 224 yards and a pair of 58-yard TDs.

Romo's final two TD tosses covered 16 and 19 yards and went to Dwayne Harris and Miles Austin, respectively, in the final 3:35. Austin's grab came with 15 seconds left on fourth-and-10.

“It's tough to lose after we fought all the way back,” Romo said.

Brees finished with 446 yards and three TDs without a turnover on 37-of-53 accuracy against the Cowboys' patchwork defense. Dallas couldn't muster much of a pass rush against Brees in the fourth quarter without linebacker DeMarcus Ware, who left the game late in the third with a shoulder injury.

“The defense just really fought their ass off all day long,” Garrett said.

Still, the Saints converted 11 of 19 third downs and had a 91-56 edge in plays. The Cowboys entered the game wanting to use their running game to control the clock and limit Brees' possessions, but DeMarco Murray managed only 40 yards on 11 attempts against the league's worst rush defense.

Murray also had a fumble the Saints converted into a TD to take a 24-17 lead.

But, in the end, it came down to a wild play that prevented the Cowboys from winning their second straight in OT and third in a row in dramatic fashion.

“It hurts,” Carr said. “You scratch and claw the whole game. You trade points, get a stop, play from behind, play with a lead, the game going back and forth. For it to come down to a play like that is frustrating. But this week, the ball didn't bounce our way.”